TVs, Displays and Mounts

TPVision-owned Philips reveals a range of LED and OLED TVs for 2018, with models including the entry-level 4K 6503 series, the HDR10+ capable 8303 and 5203 series, and no less than 5 OLED screens.

On the LED side, the 6503 entry-level 4K series features in 43-, 50-, 55- and 65-inch models. All carry HDR support, Ambilight technology, a "Pixel Precise Ultra" processing engine and the Philips Saphi UI. Following on these models are the 7303 TVs, coming in the same sizes but adding DTS-HD Premium audio processing and the "P5 Perfect Picture" processing engine. The TVs run on Android, and as should feature Google Assistant voice control.

Samsung continues to push QLED-- the rival technology to OLED promising similar image quality while being easier to produce-- at CES 2018, with an upgrade promising improved lighting management as well as any number of smart features.

The Korean giant still has to detail its 2018 TV lineup, even if it does include at least one model boasting brightness reaching over 2000 nits thanks to full-array local dimming (or directly backlighting the quantum dots making the display). This is significant, since 2017 QLED TVs could only reach a maximum 1000 nits brightness.

Further improvements include a layers of black and anti-reflection filters to minimise internal light leakage and external glare as paired with an anti-blooming algorithm. The company also says 2018 QLED TVs will be "tremendously" easy to setup via syncing with a smartphone or tablet, while the addition of Bixby provide voice control.

Customers wanting to know the HDR capability of a future monitor get a helping hand from the DisplayHDR-- a VESA standard setting baseline HDR quality levels for PC displays.

Developed with the input of over two dozen member companies, the High-Performance Monitor and Display Compliance Test Specification (or DisplayHDR) measure 3 distinct levels of HDR performance. These are baseline (DisplayHDR 400), mid-range (DisplayHDR 600) and high-end (DisplayHDR 1000), with each level based on 8 parameters.

The architect behind development of the Cd-free quantum dot technology, Dr. Eunjoo Jang at the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) was just appointed a Samsung Fellow-- an honor also referred to as “Samsung’s Nobel Prize.”

One of the breakthrough achievements of Samsung researchers has been the development of cadmium-free quantum dot technology, used currently in Samsung QLED TVs.

While quantum dot had the benefit of delivering superior light expression, the technology posed harm to the environment with toxic cadmium at risk of being released through nanoparticle degradation. Samsung’s quantum dots, however, are cadmium-free, and Samsung is currently the only company that produces cadmium-free (Cd-free) quantum dot displays.

OLED continues to dominate the high-end TV market in 2018, TrendForce's WitsView says, with shipments reaching a high of 2.5 million-- a "significant" increase over the shipments of 1.5m of 2017.

Driving such growth are more brands entering the OLED market, as well as promotional efforts from major vendors such as Sony. This comes despite the problems of OLED technology, namely colour decay and burn-in issues, and more companies are looking into further developing the technology. On the other hand QLED TV makers, including Samsung, TCL and Hisense, are finding the high pricing of QLED an issue when it comes to promotion.

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